Sinopec will buy out 4 listed units

a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter

Updated Feb. 16, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

BEIJING, China -- State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. agreed to pay 14.3 billion yuan ($1.78 billion) to buy shares it doesn't already own in four listed oil companies, a move that will further streamline the group and help propel a broader restructuring of China's stock market.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that directors of the group, known as Sinopec, approved a plan to buy out minority shareholders in Shanghai-listed Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Co. and three companies traded in Shenzhen: Sinopec...